More than a third of shoppers now subscribe to a paid next-day delivery service, new research suggests.
Some 37% did so in 2020, according to the Future Trends: The Subscription Economy Surge study from the Data & Marketing Association (DMA). That’s well ahead of the 30% who did so in 2019, and 28% in 2018. The study found that shoppers are now more likely to subscribe to repeat buys of products. Some 15% subscribed to buy toiletries and personal hygiene products regularly, in 2020 – up from 10% in 2019. At the same time, 15% (11% in 2019) subscribed to clothes purchases, 14% (10%) to beauty and cleaning products and 13% (10%) to alcohol purchases.
“Coronavirus has altered many aspects of consumers’ behaviour, especially the need for a remote connection to engage with their favourite brands,” says Tim Bond, head of insight at the DMA. “Over the past 12 months the idea of entering a high street or supermarket might have felt like a risk many people were unwilling to take. Therefore more consumers have requested key household items be delivered to their doorstep using premium courier services. Many businesses have been able to adjust their strategies and adapt, which will likely lead to a permanent rise in the availability and scope of subscription services in the future.”
Half of consumers (53%) now have a paid media streaming subscription, up from 47% last year, the study found. More than a quarter (29%) have a paid subscription to a music streaming service (26% in 2019) and 17% have a paid subscription to an online or print newspaper. That’s down from 18% in 2018 but up from 13% in 2019.
The study cites examples including the YourPret Barista, a £20 monthly subscription for up to five coffees a day, and the Floe oral care £7.99 monthly subscription, for sugarcane-packaged toothpaste and toothbrush delivered once every 12 week.
